BMW to recall 7 series for transmission flaw

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DETROIT (Reuters) -- BMW of North America said it will recall 45,500 of its 7 series luxury sedans from model years 2005-2008 to correct a flaw that could cause a parked vehicle to roll away.

BMW said automatic transmissions may not remain in "park" position due to a software problem on cars equipped with keyless ignition and the Comfort Access option.

The cars are designed to automatically shift the transmission to park when the driver presses the Stop/Start button to shut off the engine. In some cases, if the driver presses the button two or three times in succession, the system may shift the transmission to neutral rather than park.

"If the driver exits the vehicle with the transmission in Neutral and the parking brake is not applied, the vehicle may roll away," the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in its official recall notice posted late Friday on its Web site.

BMW said it would begin notifying owners of the problem in November, but dealers will not be able to correct the software until March.

BMW last week recalled many of the same 7 series sedans, saying the doors may not latch due to a software problem on cars equipped with both Comfort Access and Soft Close Automatic options.

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